You are unhappy about a plan to make your local airport bigger and increase the number of flights. You live near the airport. Write a letter to your local newspaper. In your letter: - explain where you live - describe the problem - give reasons why you do not want this development
Sample Response
Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to express my disagreement with the decision to expand the Miami International Airport as it has many detrimental consequences. My home is situated on Callos street - next to the airport, and I am hoping that you would publish an editorial to protest the development. The residents are constantly confronted with the noise and turbulence problems, created by the flights arriving and departing the airport. This is a significant issue as a major part of our population comprises young school children. The nuisance does not allow the old people a peaceful night either. Moreover, the commotion caused by the flight sometimes results in cracks or even broken glass doors and house cabinets. Now given the situation, I believe that Miami is not among the front line airports of the country and there is a restriction imposed by the government on the number of flights operated daily. I would like to plea to the president an obstruction on this plan because an expansion of the airport will aggravate the problems in our community. An increase in the number of flights will cause more turbulence and nuisance, which is explicit. I am not against any development in our country and I believe it would be ideal if the authority could come up with an alternate approach to this issue. Last but not least, I would request your editorial section to publish a report on this moot issue. In anticipation of your favourable action. Yours faithfully, Jones Nathan
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Remove the article Original: the Miami International Airport Suggested revision: Miami International Airport Why it matters: This proper airport name does not require the definite article.
- 2. Capitalise the street name Original: street Suggested revision: Street Why it matters: “Street” is part of the proper name and should begin with a capital letter.
- 3. Use the direct modal Original: hoping that you would publish Suggested revision: hope that you will publish Why it matters: “Will” states the present request more directly than the hypothetical “would”.
- 4. Name the effects accurately Original: noise and turbulence problems Suggested revision: noise and vibration Why it matters: Residents and buildings experience vibration rather than aircraft turbulence.
- 5. Add the prepositions Original: arriving and departing the airport Suggested revision: arriving at and departing from the airport Why it matters: The verbs require the prepositions “at” and “from” when used with an airport.
- 6. Use respectful wording Original: old people Suggested revision: older residents Why it matters: “Older residents” is more respectful and appropriate for a public letter.
- 7. Use the plural noun Original: the flight sometimes Suggested revision: flights sometimes Why it matters: The statement describes repeated flights in general, so the plural form is required.
- 8. Correct the compound noun Original: house Suggested revision: household Why it matters: “Household cabinets” is the natural phrase for cabinets inside residents' homes.
- 9. Improve the transition Original: Now given the situation Suggested revision: Given this situation Why it matters: The revision creates a concise and grammatically complete transition.
- 10. Use the right expression Original: front line airports Suggested revision: leading airports Why it matters: “Leading airports” naturally expresses the intended idea of national prominence.
- 11. Correct the request structure Original: plea to the president an obstruction on this plan Suggested revision: appeal to the president to halt this plan Why it matters: “Appeal to someone to do something” is the required grammatical structure.
- 12. State the local effects Original: turbulence and nuisance Suggested revision: noise and vibration Why it matters: These terms accurately describe the effects the letter attributes to additional flights.
Suggested Rewrites
- the Miami International Airport Miami International Airport
- street Street
- hoping that you would publish hope that you will publish
- noise and turbulence problems noise and vibration
- arriving and departing the airport arriving at and departing from the airport
- old people older residents
Why this response received Band 6.5
The letter has a clear purpose, addresses each bullet point, and gives several concrete effects of the proposed airport expansion. Its main limitation is imprecise phrasing, especially when discussing government restrictions and the requested intervention, while the single-block organisation weakens readability. The highest priority is to express the requested action directly and divide the supporting reasons into purposeful paragraphs.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are covered, and the objections are developed with relevant community impacts.
State the action sought from the newspaper more directly and remove the unclear reference to appealing to the president.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress from location and current problems to objections and a final request, but the entire body is presented as one dense block.
Use separate paragraphs for the local problems, reasons against expansion, and requested newspaper action.
Lexical Resource
The letter shows a good range of formal and topic-specific vocabulary, though several combinations such as turbulence problems and plea an obstruction are unnatural or unclear.
Prioritise precise, natural collocations, such as aircraft noise, structural damage, and oppose the expansion plan.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A variety of complex structures is used and meaning is generally clear, although awkward constructions and a final sentence fragment reduce control.
Correct verb patterns and sentence boundaries, especially the appeal sentence and the fragment beginning In anticipation.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You are unhappy about a plan to make your local airport bigger and increase the number of flights. You live near the airport. Write a letter to your local newspaper. In your letter:
- explain where you live
- describe the problem
- give reasons why you do not want this development
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.